Flashback to A Miracle in the Library

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've started sharing excerpts from my published books in my Facebook group, Helena's Book Haven. If you want to read them as soon as I put them up, you'll have to join my group, but I will share them here too a week later.

This week the spotlight is on A Miracle in the Library and I've decided to share another first kiss.

****

Mitch didn’t recognize the smile on Cian’s face. It was soft and warm and inviting and….

“You are something else.” Cian reached out and lifted Mitch’s chin with the press of a few fingers. “Stop me if you don’t want this.”

Cian’s gaze mesmerized him. He glanced from the beautiful brown eyes to Cian’s mouth and back again. Stop him? Nothing was further from Mitch’s mind. He was lost in the moment and hoped he would never be found.

Mitch’s heart beat faster when Cian pressed his lips against his. The only people to have ever kissed him were family members. It didn’t compare. Lips should be lips should be lips, but there was a world of difference between Aunt Mary’s dry pecks and Cian’s lush caressing of Mitch’s mouth.

He wanted more. He wanted…a taste. With his heart rate increasing even further, he parted his lips slightly and pushed the tip of his tongue through until he encountered Cian’s mouth. Cian’s response was immediate. He wrapped a hand around the back of Mitch’s neck, holding him in a light yet possessive grip. At the same time he too parted his lips, and the next moment Mitch was lost.

Closing his eyes, Mitch didn’t actually see lights flashing, but he understood why people described the experience as such. He was transported to a version of life he hadn’t known existed, a world filled with sensations, feelings, and thoughts he didn’t recognize. The kiss sent tendrils of heat coursing through his veins. Mitch felt Cian’s heart beating against the palm of the hand he’d pressed against his solid chest. This was…. He didn’t have words for what it was. New, shocking, the best thing in the world, scary, delicious, more….

The urge to scream came over him for the second time when Cian pulled back, gave him one more peck on his lips, and stepped aside.

“Much as you taste like more, I think that’s probably enough for here and now.”

“Much as I hate to admit it,” Mitch grumbled, “I think you’re probably right.” He kicked the fence for good measure.

“Will I see you in the library tomorrow?” Cian asked.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Mitch said, cringing when he realized how childish that sounded.

“It’s a date.” Cian grinned before giving Mitch one more kiss and walking away.

Mitch didn’t move from his spot until Cian was out of sight. It’s a date. He had a date.

****

If you'd like to read more, you can find the A Miracle in the Library here: mybook.to/AMITL

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day

Okay, I’m three days early, but really, is there ever a reason not to be in the mood for love? I’m delighted to be taking part in the BE MINE Valentine’s Day Bash in Ana Newfolk’s wonderful FB group - Café Lima. The party started Saturday and won’t end until Valentine’s Day itself, so if you haven’t joined the fun yet, there’s still plenty of time to do so. You can join Ana’s group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/208814836439843/

As part of the festivities and as a special treat for our readers, the participants in this event have all penned a Valentine’s Day flash fiction featuring a favourite couple from one of their previously published books. These flashes will be bundled in an e-book which will be made available for FREE, probably on February 14^th, but stay tuned for further updates.

And, while your waiting for the collection, each participating author will share their own flash during the bash in Ana's readers' group.

My flash can be found below and features a couple I first introduced last Christmas. I hope you’ll enjoy spending a bit more time with Mitch and Cian.

This short flash revisits Mitch and Cian from A Miracle in the Library and is an interlude falling between that Christmas story and the St. Patrick’s Day novella I hope to publish mid-March.

Mitch checked the clock. No, he wasn’t imagining things. He really was hungry. He could usually set his watch by his mother’s routine and dinner was never later than a quarter to seven. Except now it was half past.

He sniffed the air, frowning when he encountered no mouth-watering aromas. Bemused, he got up from the couch he’d been lounging on and walked to the kitchen.

“Ma?” Whatever he’d expected, it wasn’t his mother sitting at the breakfast bar, reading a book.

She put her finger on the page, then looked up at him. “Yes?”

“Are we even having dinner tonight?” Mitch was struggling to keep a handle on his temper. It was frustrating enough that he couldn’t spend Valentine’s Day with his boyfriend. Just my luck that it has to fall on a Thursday. With Mitch in the final year of secondary school and Cian in college in Dublin, a midweek get-together just wasn’t in the cards. Not even on Valentine’s Day. Not even with my first-ever boyfriend.

His mother gave him one of her infamous patient smiles, the ones she gave when she thought he was being especially dim-witted. “All in its own good time, my lad.” Her smile changed, turning almost evil. “Don’t worry. You’ll get fed.” She lowered her gaze and continued reading.

The situation was so unusual Mitch had no idea what to say, so he returned to the living room. Here he was, eighteen at last and stuck at home while others celebrated love. Frustrated, he extracted his phone from his pocket and swiped the screen.

No new messages. Mitch’s mood dipped further.

They had exchanged texts earlier, but for the past two hours, there’d been no sign of life from Cian. Mitch’s message was still the last in their thread.

Fuck, I wish we could spend the evening together.

Had he at last gone too far? Been too needy? He wistfully reflected that he could do with another visit from Klaus Nichols. Except this time he needed a Valentine’s Day miracle.

Feeling sorry for himself, he leaned back into the soft cushion and closed his eyes. All he wanted was to spend Valentine’s Day with his boyfriend. Surely that wasn’t unreasonable? No, but it is impossible.

The sound of the doorbell chiming through the house had him sitting up straight. Visitors?

“Would you get that, Mitch?”

“Sure.” As he walked to the door, Mitch wondered if whoever was visiting was the reason they hadn’t eaten yet.

Mitch pulled the door open, curious who he would find on the other side, looked up and….

“Hey.” Cian’s gaze didn’t quite meet Mitch’s, and his smile was almost bashful.

Mitch looked over his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen before facing Cian again. “You…her?”

Cian shrugged. “I thought we could have pizza together. But it’s a school night, so I checked with your ma first.”

“Bastards,” Mitch muttered, unable to suppress his delighted grin. He closed the distance between them, lifted his chin, and kissed Cian. “Pizza sounds good. Let me get my coat.”

Mitch’s heart sang as he stuck out his tongue to his ma before shrugging into his coat and walking away from the house with Cian…his boyfriend…on Valentine’s Day.

****

As stated above, this flash takes place about two months after Mitch and Cian first meet in A Miracle in the Library. I realize Christmas has come and gone, but if you are interested in the start of their story, you can find it here: mybook.to/AMITL

In the meantime, you might be interested in my latest release: Valentine’s Surprise, which is the sequel to last year’s Valentine’s Love.

Valentine’s surprise is €.99/$.99/£.99.

Buy links Valentine’s Surprise: Universal link | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Buy links Valentine's Love: Universal Link | Amazon US | Amazon UK

A Miracle in the Library - Out Today!!!

A Miracle in the Library and an Abundance of Inspiration

The writing of A Miracle in the Library was exactly that: a miracle.

I already had a Christmas story releasing with Dreamspinner Press this December (more information to follow shortly) and had no intention of writing another one, until one day early November, while I was in the middle of working on something else, inspiration struck with such force, I couldn’t not write the book.

What inspired me you ask? Well, quite a few things in fact.

The setting in A Miracle in the Library is pretty much a carbon copy of the old-fashioned, part-time library I work in one afternoon every other week. As the pictures show, the one room holds nothing except books, a collection of chairs, and a desk for the librarian. I had to modify the place a tiny bit to make it a better fit for my miracle, but it’s safe to say both the library and its location in the book are firmly based on my bi-weekly reality.

While I don’t name them, I had two very specific books in mind for Mitch to read while visiting the library. Having read both of them myself, I highly recommend these books for younger people coming to terms with who they are, of course, but also for all others wanting to gain insight into what that might mean. I reviewed one of them some time ago, and you can find my thoughts here: This Book is Gay

 

Mr. Nichols, as described A Miracle in the Library, had the face, kindness, and wisdom of my good friend Tim O’Rahilly from the moment he sprang to life in my mind. The image below gives you a good idea why.

And last but by no means least, there is this video. Yes, I’m well aware it is an advert for an alcoholic beverage but, while I’ve been known to indulge on occasion, that is not the point here. Panti Bliss, in this short clip, says exactly what I’ve been hoping to convey in my story. Why don’t you take a look?

Blurb

Seventeen-year-old Mitch McCann has been trying to dodge his bullies for eighteen months. He isn’t out, but that hasn’t stopped the popular gang at school from tormenting him for being gay. Three weeks before Christmas, in a desperate attempt to shake his pursuers, Mitch flees into the abandoned community hall, only to discover the building is far from empty; inside he finds a fully stocked library as well as Mr. Nichols, the very welcoming librarian.

The library turns into Mitch’s refuge of choice, where he can read books that answer his endless questions, without fear of encountering abuse. His peace of mind is shattered when nineteen-year-old Cian Leavy enters his sanctuary. Cian is the boy who made Mitch realize he’s gay, and he’s more attractive now than he was eighteen months ago, when Mitch literally ran into him.

Will Cian unwittingly disrupt Mitch’s life again? Or has the scene been set for a miracle in the library?

Buy Links: Universal AmazonLink | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Available to read in KU